The Blizzard
by bamafelix
Summary: The freezing snow, the flurry that freezes all obstacles. That is the meaning of the blizzard. The boy who must become this blizzard will find himself engulfed by the world of spartan babies, time traveling bazookas, and mafiosos.
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy my next and final attempt at Hitman Reborn! I mean it. This is the last time I try. So it's awesome or bust.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC's.**

**Chapter 1**

It was snowing on that day. Nothing but a frozen wonderland could be seen outside. With these conditions, anyone would have a jolly mood...Except for that one boy.

That one child waited at the dining room table while his mother began washing dishes to calm herself. They were always nervous around that time of day. It was normally never a happy time. They always kept the lights off to better the chances of that time not being as bad.

Gray clouds, fluttering snow. The ice covering the yard. The cold, chilling air. None of these could compare to the freezing atmosphere of that house that day. The boy had tried to keep as neutral looking as possible while his mother made sure that everything that needed to be done was done. They both froze when they heard the key turning in the lock on the front door. The boy sat up straight and merely looked at the wall ahead while his mother proceeded to do a final check of the kitchen and living room.

By the time the door opened and the boy's father walked in, they were both in the kitchen making preparations for dinner.

He called out, his speech slurred. No doubt he had come home drunk again. The boy's mother gave him a slightly fearful look. The boy's father called out again. The mother jumped to attention before going to him. The boy began to sweat a little as minutes went by. Then there was that sound.

His father had struck his mother again. The boy immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the other room. "Mom!" He noticed his mother kneeling on the ground, her hand on the place where her husband had hit her. They both tried to remain calm. This had been a regular occurrence for as long as the boy could remember.

But the boy's anger became visible through his trembling fists. His knuckles became white as the boy tried to hold back. The boy could take it when his father hit him, but he couldn't stand it when his father struck his mother.

The boy's mother sensed his anger and quickly apologized to his father before the boy did something rash. This did not placate his father's drunken rage. The father grabbed the mother by the choke and began to squeeze, the mother clawing at his arm, begging him to let go.

The boy snapped. Before he could even think about caring about the consequences, he leaped forward and grabbed his father's arm. The father released his grasp on the mother when the boy opened his mouth...and sunk his teeth into the flesh on his father's arm. The boy let go when blood began to ooze from the teeth marks.

His father let go of the boy's mother who fell to her knees, gasping for the air she so desperately craved.

He instead turned his rage toward the boy. The boy was unable to react before his father brought his fist to the side of the boy's face. The boy fell to the ground, attempting to recover from the blow. Before he could, he saw his father grab something from the nearest table. The boy was only able to make out that it was a vase before his father swung it down.

SMASH

SHATTER

The vase hit the young boy in the head, but it didn't hurt as much as the last time his father did, he'd been getting used to the pain by now. The boy didn't have time to take out any vase shards imbedded in him as his father began dragging him across the hallway by his shirt collar. A few seconds later, a door was opened and the boy was thrown in, hitting the wall behind him.

"If you feel like being a pain in the ass, then I guess you hate eating anything else today or tomorrow!" His father shouted and slammed the door (it's a miracle it hasn't come off its hinges by now).

The boy sighed and struggled to move his battered, bruised, and slightly bleeding body. Looking out the window, he remembered it was winter as the snow came down in a massive blizzard now. Opening the glass barrier, the boy scooped up a handful from the window sill and presses the cold substance against his face. Snow. He's not sure why, but snow always calmed him. Some days the boy just wished he was strong...like a blizzard. Strong enough to protect his mom. To protect himself for that matter.

He wanted to be strong like the snow. To be strong like a powerful blizzard.

The boy hoped that day his wish was granted came soon.

* * *

_Time skip: 7 years._

A boy, a young man really (around 14), was walking down the street. He had pale skin and white hair that made most people immediately think of him as an albino, but the thing that set him apart was his incredibly bright, light-blue eyes.

His name was Yukio Orihara.

It was a long walk from school to his house, but he was OK with that. It didn't bother him.

It was nice and refreshing, especially when he ran into a nice, cool breeze. It was also nice and calm. UNTIL-

"HIEEE!" Yukio paused as he looked at the other side of the road.

A young boy about his age ran by being chased by a chihuahua. Yukio recognized him by his fluffy, brown hair and the school uniform that was similar to Yukio's that he wore.

Yukio's sweat dropped. "Is Dame-Tsuna really being chased...by a chihuahua?" He shrugged it off. "He'll be fine I guess."

Despite a slight pang of conscience, Yukio preferred the reasoning that a chihuahua wasn't that tough and probably would only chew on Dame-Tsuna's pants leg.

Ignoring his plight, Yukio decided to continue on his way home.

* * *

"I'm home." Yukio said as he walked through the door. There was no response. There usually never was.

Not that he minded though.

Yukio did what he normally did when he came home: make a snack, get some homework done, and then watch TV. He was a B-average student so clearly this system was working for him_._

He stared blankly at the TV as he realized it was just another rerun. Yukio sighed.

_Everything is so...boring. Even school seems to be scripted now...Mom'__s always at work. Everything is so boring. I wish something exciting would happen.  
_

Little did he know how much he would come to regret that thought.

* * *

_The next day..._

Yukio didn't remember what time his mother came home the previous night, but she came home at some point because she was laying on the couch, sleeping. No doubt she once again was too exhausted to actually get to her bed.

He sighed. He walked over to a nearby closet and took a blanket large enough and then came back. He carefully placed it on her softly enough as to keep from waking her up.

"I'm going to school now." He said pointlessly. His mother was far too deep into unconsciousness to have heard him. Satisfied that he was fully dressed and everything he needed to do was done, Yukio stepped out his front door and took a good glimpse of the road he took to the school.

Yukio took in a deep breath. "My one way of breaking normality. Time to see if I can break my record." Yukio assumed a runner's position.

_3..._

_2..._

_1..._

_GO!_

And Yukio took off like a bullet. He smiled as he felt the breeze against his face. It reminded him of cold winter air which always seemed to soothe him no matter what the situation.

Something well known about Yukio is that he is possibly the fastest runner in all of Namimori, earning him the moniker 'The White Flash'. He could make trips that would take an hour in under fifteen minutes.

A simple run to school was so trivial that Yukio had taken to timing his runs. His current record was four minutes twenty-seven seconds.

Yukio was determined to beat that record. Everywhere he ran, he created a mighty gust and dust followed in his wake. He also got dirty looks from the girls he ran by who were unfortunate enough to be wearing skirts.

But Yukio didn't care. He just focused on running.

When Yukio finally reached the school, he skidded to a stop as he was greeted by a rather strange sight.

A nearly naked boy fell from the sky and knocked Mochida, the captain of the kendo team into the air only to be caught by ace baseball player, Takeshi Yamamoto. Then Yukio finally realized something else...

Two things actually.

First, the nearly naked boy was none other than Dame-Tsuna. The second was that he seemed different somehow (other than being completely naked).

"Sasagawa Kyoko, please go out with me!" Tsuna said this with a strange, berserk kind of energy that both amused and disturbed Yukio. Yukio raised an eyebrow.

_Well...I guess I did wish for something different to happen...but...what the Hell?_

Something known to everyone at Namimori Middle School is that Tsunayoshi Sawada is useless at everything. Yukio was sure that even Tsunayoshi himself acknowledged this. This earned him the nickname 'Dame-Tsuna'.

Yukio wondered what was going on through Dame-Tsuna's head if he actually thought Kyoko Sasegawa, the most popular girl in school, would do anything other than what she did. The moment Dame-Tsuna finished, she squealed and ran off toward the school building.

Yukio shook his head.

_What a crazy streaker does is none of my business. I just have to continue on with my normal, boring, and incredibly annoying day._

"Yo, Yukio! What's up?!" Yukio sighed.

_Speaking of somewhat annoying._

Yukio watched as a familiar black-haired baseball player waved at him.

"Hello, Yamamoto-san." He said halfheartedly. Despite Yukio's lack of enthusiasm, Yamamoto continued grinning as always.

The main reason Yamamoto ended up befriending Yukio was because of a simple whim on Yukio's part.

Earlier during their first year of middle school, Yukio had preferred being alone and normally sat in the corner of the room where no one would bother him. Yamamoto, never really studying, had neglected his homework.

Despite this, Yamamoto remained as carefree as usual.

"I guess I'm going to be in a bit of trouble. Hehe." Most of what he said was something along these lines and it began to annoy Yukio so he eventually decided it was enough. Before Yamamoto could complain, Yukio snagged Yamamoto's homework and wrote down the work and answers with inhuman speed.

Yukio returned to his seat and didn't say anything as the teacher came into the classroom as a confused Yamamoto took his seat.

When the teacher began collecting assignments, he was incredibly astonished that not only did Yamamoto get all of his homework done, but he got over 4/5ths of the questions correct. Yamamoto smiled a little sheepishly, but didn't say anything about Yukio's involvement.

Later that day...

"Yo! Yukio!" Yukio froze on his way home as he saw the familiar baseball ace running toward him. Seeing no reason not to, Yukio stopped and let Yamamoto catch up to him.

"What do you want, baseball star?" He meant it in a ruder fashion, but Yamamoto seemed to take it as a compliment.

"Ma, Yukio, you really shouldn't cheat like that. You'll end up getting in trouble." Yukio's eye twitched. Yukio had saved this baseball idiot from failing ANOTHER assignment and he chose to lecture him about it?

"Piss off." Yukio mumbled softly enough so that Yamamoto couldn't hear it. He then began to walk home again. Or he tried to until Yamamoto ran in front of him.

Yamamoto bowed. "But thanks! I really appreciate your help!"

Yukio blushed slightly out of embarrassment. Nobody had ever actually complimented him or thanked him other than his mother. He quickly realized that Yamamoto was still watching and quickly snapped out of it. "Whatever."

"No really! I appreciate it!" The conversation would've gone on for longer than that if not for the grumbling that came from Yukio's stomach. Yukio blushed in again. Yamamoto laughed at Yukio's shyness. "If you're hungry, my old man can fix you something to eat."

Yukio would really rather return home, but something caused him to pursue an answer to something. "What does he cook?"

Yamamoto grinned. "My family owns a sushi shop and I guess the name would speak for itself!" Yukio's eyes widened.

Sushi was one of his favorite foods.

Yukio turned away. "Fine." Yamamoto then led the way to the sushi shop where he met Yamamoto's father (whom Yukio had to admit was an OK person). The food was also good.

He had honestly forgotten most of what happened after that, but he remembered that in exchange for more sushi, Yukio would tutor Yamamoto...Yamamoto didn't make the best student however so that plan went down the toilet. And ever since then, Yamamoto somehow saw Yukio as a friend and never missed a chance to hang out with/bug him.

Like now for instance.

"So what was it you wanted?" Yukio asked with a bit of annoyance in his voice. Yamamoto opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, adopting a frowning expression.

He quickly adopted his usual grin. "I forgot!" Yukio's sweat dropped.

Yukio occasionally wondered if Yamamoto was a bit wrong in the head. Most people would ask, "Can I be your friend?" Those people, Yukio was able to ignore. But with Yamamoto's bottomless pit of happy and his "I'm going to be your friend!" attitude, it became impossible for Yukio to reject Yamamoto's friendship. The only person who could say no that Yukio knew of was their good ol' tonfa wielding, disciplinary committee psycho.

"You, my friend, are on whole other level."

_Of stupid that is._

"Thanks!" It was then that Yukio noticed everyone else filing into the school building. Yukio sighed.

"I guess we should get to class before you-know-who decides to bite us to death." Yamamoto chuckled a little nervously. Even Yamamoto had enough common sense to know that being bitten to death was BAD. The two teens quickly hurried to their class before the final bell rang.

* * *

The school day went by rather quickly. One minute Yukio had his head on his desk, wondering when the boredom would end, the next, class had finally been dismissed.

Yukio stretched his arms, readying himself for the run home, when Yamamoto walked up to him.

"Yo, Yukio!"

"What is it now, Yamamoto-san?" Yamamoto grinned.

"I remembered what I wanted to ask earlier!" There was a brief silence.

Yukio realized Yamamoto was waiting for him to ask. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I don't have practice later, so do you want to hang out?" Yukio pondered his options. If he went with Yamamoto, he risked not only many of his brain cells, but also his sanity. But if he went home...what would there be? His mom always left early in the day and came home late every night, so he would be all alone.

_Now let's see...stupidity or the bottomless pit of despair that is my life of solitude?...I guess I'm still weighing my options. _

Yukio's plans were made FOR him when he overheard the conversation of several of his fellow classmates.

"Have you heard the news?" asked one.

Another nodded. "Yeah. I heard that Mochida challenged Dame-Tsuna to a duel."

"Wasn't the prize supposed to be Kyoko-chan?" asked another.

"Yeah. I'm going just to see Mochida-senpai put that streaker in his place."

"Count me in!"

"Me too!" The three students then left the room with Yukio glaring after them.

"Tch." It was impossible for Yukio to express his annoyance in that one syllable, but he sure as hell tried.

"Sounds exciting!" stated Yamamoto, nudging Yukio's arm a little. "Want to go watch?" Yukio sighed.

_OK. Third option: Go watch Dame-Tsuna get the stuffing beat out of him by the big-headed, chauvinistic, pig...Option 3 at least guarantees lack of solitude and none of the brain cell loss._

Yukio then shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

They both then moved on toward the gym to get a look at Dame-Tsuna getting the tar kicked out of him. By the time they arrived, there was already a circle of people gathered around said Dame-person and the chauvinist. Both were currently holding a shinai.

Dame-Tsuna was panicking a little while Mochida tried to make himself out to be cool even though he clearly wasn't.

"Quite the excitement, huh?" stated Yamamoto. Rather than give some sort of sarcastic response, Yukio nodded.

He then listened as Mochida stated the rules that if Dame-Tsuna scored a single point on him, then Dame-Tsuna would be declared the winner with Sasegawa Kyoko being the prize. Yukio resisted the urge to spit at Mochida. He noticed Yamamoto's smile vanish as well. Clearly he was also disgusted. Disgusted enough not to laugh in the face of reality.

Yukio noticed Kyoko was also upset at being referred to as a 'prize'.

As the fight went on, Yukio immediately noticed the foul play. Even though Dame-Tsuna managed to land a blow on Mochida, the referee refused to raise Dame-Tsuna's flag. When Yukio took a closer look, he recognized the referee as one of Mochida's people. He also noticed that despite the fact that both Shinai should've been the same, Tsuna seemed to be having more trouble lifting his.

Even Dame-Tsuna wasn't THAT weak. Yukio turned and was surprised that not only was his grin no longer present, but Yamamoto seemed almost a little angry.

Yukio could've sworn he heard Yamamoto mutter something along the lines of "That's playing dirty..." under his breath.

_Well...apparently breaking the rules of sports is one of the few things that pisses this box of sunshine off._

But he took his mind off that for a moment and returned his attention back to the duel.

Yukio noticed a spark of light as something flew through the air. Immediately afterward, all of Tsuna's clothes burst into flame, leaving him only in his boxers. He exuded the same powerful aura he had earlier.

He exclaimed something along the lines of "Rawr! Defeat Mochida with my Dying Will!" Tsuna broke Mochida's Shinai and headbutted him.

The referee was either too startled or too stubborn to call the point.

With inhuman speed, Tsuna sprang forward and grab a handful of Mochida's hair. "If you won't raise the flag for one point then I'll take one hundred points!" Each second that passed was another clump of hair torn from Mochida's head. Karma had apparently saw fit to leave Mochida with a now bald head.

With such blatant win, the referee had no choice to but to admit Tsuna's victory. Tsuna's powerful aura vanished not too long afterward. There was a silence before everyone went to go congratulate Tsuna, cheering for his victory against all odds.

Even Yukio found himself smiling slightly. His good mood was disrupted when Yamamoto began patting him rather forcefully on the back.

"Ma, that was really amazing! That Tsunayoshi was pretty good!" Yukio sighed.

_No reason to go try and break my spine._

Yukio was content to watch Tsuna be a little excited over his new found popularity. He frowned when he noticed Mochida getting back up. Clearly he was not very happy about having all of his hair torn off as he gripped his shattered shinai rather angrily.

"YOU LITTLE TWERP!" Mochida raised his fist in attempt to strike the surprised Tsuna...only for his face to meet the bad end of Yukio's foot.

"Buster...KICK!" The force of Yukio's kick was powerful enough to send Mochida flying into the nearby wall, with Mochida slumping forward in unconsciousness. Everyone turned toward Yukio in surprise. Yukio heard some of them muttering 'Albino kid' or 'the White Flash', but Yukio didn't care about them for the moment.

Yukio gave Mochida a quick glare before lowering his leg. Yukio walked over to the shinai that Tsuna had previously dropped and lifted it up experimentally. He had a bit more trouble than he should've.

"You have lost what little respect there could've been had for you, Mochida. You rigged the entire match." He let the shinai drop to the ground with a louder than usual slam. "You put weight on his armor and sword to make it harder for him to fight." Yukio finally took the opportunity to spit. He then turned to Tsuna, who flinched at his scanning gaze. Yukio's expression changed slightly as his lips curved into a smile. "Sawada...not bad." Tsuna blinked as Yukio began to walk away.

"Um...t-thank you?" Yukio then began to walk away, fully aware of the comments that were no doubt going around by now.

"That Orihara..."

"He might've damaged the wall."

"He's gonna get Hibari-san mad at all of us."

"Stupid White Flash..." Yukio ignored all of the comments as he walked out the door.

"Hey, Yukio!" The white-haired boy turned to see the closest thing he had to a friend run up to him, his ever present grin having returned. "So you still want to hang out?"

Yukio sighed. Clearly Yamamoto wasn't going to let this go. "Fine. Got anything particular in mind?"

"Nope." Yukio's sweat dropped.

"Course you don't." Together, the two friends went to go do nothing in particular.

* * *

Yukio ended up returning home earlier than he had hoped that day, so he was in a relatively good mood. He paused when he got a whiff of a rather delicious aroma.

He peeked into the kitchen to see a familiar woman standing in front of the stove.

She was currently wearing a plain, sky-blue dress along with an apron as she cooked at the stove. She had waist-length, snow-white hair and light-blue eyes. The most noticeable thing about her was her incredibly pale skin. Despite the fact she almost looked albino, she had a white smile that made her seem darker in comparison.

"M-Mom?!"

"Oh, Yuki-kun! You're home!"

"And...so are you...apparently..." Yukio raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd be working late again tonight." His mother's smile didn't lessen a single bit. It was almost like Yamamoto's except Yukio actually cared about her smile.

Miyako Orihara continued to smile. "Oh. It was nothing really. I managed to persuade my boss to let me off early." Yukio nodded.

"I see."

"And how has your day been? I'm assuming good from the way you're smiling." She said. It wasn't until that point that Yukio realized a small smile remained on his face from earlier. He quickly turned away, blushing slightly.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Yukio's mother giggled at this.

"Did you make a new friend today? I admit that that Takeshi boy seems rather nice, but you two must get rather lonely."

"Friend? Yamamoto? Yeah right. He doesn't have the brain cells to-OW!" Yukio was interrupted as his mother began yanking on his cheeks.

"It's not polite to talk about your friends like that!" Yukio rubbed his aching cheek after she had let go.

"But-"

"If he's nice like a friend and you hang out like friends, then you ARE friends." Yukio was surprised by his mother's change in attitude. She was normally so docile. He was curious what brought this change in personality. "And nothing is more important than friends, Yuki-kun!"

Yukio was unsure how to respond by this point except with "What? What are you talking about?" His mother sighed as she turned around.

"Your friends are the few allies you can be positive you can depend on. Someday I won't be around and you'll have to learn to just trust them. You'll depend on them like they will need to depend on you."

Yukio tried to find the best possible response to this, but remained silent.

"Oh no! Dinner!" His mother's attention quickly went from Yukio to God knows what she had in the oven. Yukio took the opportunity to slip away and run up to his room.

When he got there, he quickly locked the door and went to go lay down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a good fifteen minutes. His mother must've sensed his exhaustion and chose to leave him alone to his thoughts.

_Friends, huh? Well...OK, so maybe Yamamoto WAS the first person to ever actually try to get to know me and he WAS the first person to stick by my side...but if I call him my friend now, it'll feel kinda cheap. Eh, whatever. He's an idiot, so I don't think he's figured it out._

Then his thoughts wandered to earlier that day.

_So...Sawada Tsunayoshi...I have a feeling things are going to get much more interesting thanks to you..._

**EXTREME! I finished the chapter finally! I couldn't have done it without two good buddies! My buddy, Bboy46 for helping me brainstorm ideas for the beginning and MangaFreak3 who actually helped me write this! Well, not write write, but he got me through several mental blocks and gave better advice on how to revise this!  
**

**Thanks to both of you!**

**And thank you, my readers, for reading.**

**AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW WITH YOUR DYING WILL!**

**Bye-Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we go with the next chapter of the grand masterpiece!...ONWARD!  
**

**And remember, this is NOT yaoi! This is just the life of a recluse who has no choice but to be in the company of an overcheerful baseball player.  
**

**Also note: this is mostly following the manga so things may be in a different order than what you expect.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC's.**

**Chapter 2**

It was slightly windier today, as if it's alluding toward an incoming storm. But that doesn't matter, because an incoming dust storm quickly made its way through the street. This is Yukio Orihara, on his way to break his daily record.

Despite the fact he was still running incredibly fast, Yukio was already taking ten minutes. Possibly his worst time yet.

It wasn't due to lack of ability, but because Yukio's mind was elsewhere. He couldn't help but think back to the conversation he had had with his mother the previous day.

_"If he's nice like a friend and you hang out like friends, then you ARE friends."_

_"Nothing is more important than friends, Yuki-kun!"_

Yukio shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he arrived at the front of the school building. During his confusion, he neglected the pothole right in front of him and fell forward as his foot got caught on it.

_Crap crap crap crap!_

He was bracing for the hard and painful reality that was the ground...only to realize somewhat held their arm under him to prevent his fall.

"You alright, Yukio?" Yukio froze as he looked up to see a familiar, smiling baseball idiot.

Yukio realized that Yamamoto was the only reason that Yukio hadn't landed face first on the ground. He quickly got back on his own two feet and turned toward the school building. "I didn't need any help." He then took a step toward the school building before hesitating. "But thanks anyway." Behind his back, Yukio could tell Yamamoto was still grinning.

* * *

School rolled around with interesting news. Most of the volleyball substitutes and the regular players of class 1A were absent due to an interesting case of food poisoning. Class passed by boringly as usual with Yukio barely managing to pay attention.

Apparently, due to his victory against Mochida, Tsuna had become popular almost overnight. This only served to mystify and intrigue Yukio even further.

Apparently Tsuna was also asked to substitute for one of the other substitute's substitute, thus making him one of the few players actually able to play.

Yukio had spent the entire class time with his head on the desk, sleeping, so he didn't notice when Yamamoto walked up to him.

"Yo! Yukio!" came his usual cheerful greeting. Yukio sat up and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.

"Evening, Yamamoto-san...what time is it?" Yukio was too sleepy to care about being annoyed by his cheerful personality.

"Well...school's over and-" Yukio saw what he was going to say coming before he said it.

"No. I will not go to baseball practice with you."

Yamamoto laughed. "What a letdown...but that wasn't what I wanted to ask. You want to go watch the volleyball game that's going on later? I heard that Sawada is playing so it might be exciting!"

Yukio yawned in response. "I think I'll pass on that." He was knocked awake by Yamamoto's heavy pats on the back.

"Oh come on, Yuki! Have some fun for once!" It almost sounded like a challenge. Yukio pondered saying something along the lines of 'No' when he remembered the little mishap earlier that day. He sighed.

"Fine. Only because I owe you one though." Yamamoto fist-pumped.

Yukio's sweat dropped.

_Is going to watch some sport that has nothing to do with him that important?_

Then he pondered the nature of the game.

_Well, I guess most people would be going to see how Tsunayoshi plays considering he totally annihilated the chauvinistic pig the other day._

Yukio then stretched his arms. "I'll meet you there..." He then laid his head back down. "Just...five more minutes..." Yamamoto laughed again.

"OK then. I'll see ya there then." Before long, Yukio was once again snoring.

* * *

The young boy was on the ground...bruised and bleeding. He stared up at the ceiling as his drunken father simply watched TV on the couch, another bottle of booze in his hand. The mother was busy bandaging up the young boy's injuries.

His father never did let them go to a hospital. Too many questions would be asked. The boy didn't move too much though. He was too numb from the pain. Despite this, his kind mother did all she could to be as gentle as possible. She seemed tired.

The boy couldn't blame her. With the life they lived, when they weren't in pain, they were busy doing things the drunk on the couch was to lazy to do himself.

The thing that hurt the boy more than anything wasn't the injuries. It was the sad look in his mother's eye. As if she blamed herself for all of their misfortune. It made the boy want to cry every single day he saw that look.

He hated being so weak. Why was he born this way? Why couldn't he do something as simple as protect his mother?!

Their silence was broken when the drunk man on the couch decided to get up. The mother froze. So did the boy. But as it turned out (judging from the man's mutterings) that he was just getting another bottle as his was currently empty.

It was the young boy's misfortune that his mother had brought him into the pathway between the living room and the kitchen.

The boy's father didn't even TRY to step over him. The boy cringed as his numbness faded into more pain. His mother panicked slightly before moving the young boy out of the way.

After retrieving some more mind-numbing alcohol, the boy's father returned to his seat on the couch. The boy's mother made sure to move the boy far enough away from his father so that they could not be heard.

Once they were unable to be heard, the boy watched as tears began to roll down his mother's cheeks. She buried her face into her hands.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry..." She kept repeating over and over to the young boy.

'Why...?...Why are you apologizing...?' The boy thought. His own eyes began to sting as he watched his mother break down entirely. 'Why...why can't I be stronger...?'

* * *

Yukio was awoken from his dreams by the feeling of someone shaking.

"Ma, Yukio. You're going to miss the game." Yukio sat up straight and looked around. He was still in the classroom. Everyone had probably already gone to go watch the volleyball game. Currently the only two people in the room was Yukio and his baseball-loving best friend...Yes. Yukio has admitted that despite being an idiot and unnaturally cheerful, Yamamoto WAS his only friend and therefore, by default, his BEST friend.

Perhaps it was his mother's influence from their previous conversation. Either way...

"Hey, Yukio...why are you crying?" Yukio jumped when he remembered Yamamoto was still there. Yukio glared at him before feeling his cheek only to realize that it was indeed wet with tears. Yukio quickly used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away his tears. Yamamoto had a curious yet worried look. Concerned about Yukio.

Yukio looked away in embarrassment. "It was nothing. Just got something in my eye."

"Looked to me that you were having a pretty bad nightmare." Yamamoto pointed out. Yukio adopted an annoyed expression.

"And it looked to me that it's none of your business." Yukio felt a little guilty with how rude he was, but Yamamoto didn't seem the least bit hurt by the statement. Instead, Yamamoto did was he normally does best: He laughed it off.

"You're probably right! Sorry." Yukio's expression softened. He sighed.

_Damn it! Why is it my mom has the power to make me so damn soft?_

"So wasn't there like a volleyball game or something?"

"Oh yeah! When the game started, I noticed you weren't there so I figured you'd still be here, snoring. So I came to get you." Yukio scratched his head.

"How long was I out?" Yamamoto shrugged.

"Long enough to miss the start of the game. If we hurry, we can still catch some of it."

Seeing no other choices at the moment, Yukio nodded. "Fine." Together they left the vacant classroom and began making their way across the schoolyard toward the stadium.

Their trip was uneventful until...

"OI! ORIHARA! STOP RIGHT THERE!" The two of them did as told and turned to see who yelled.

Yukio, honestly, was not surprised to see a bunch of guys wielding shinai. At the front was none other than the scumbag, narcissistic (and now chrome dome), chauvinist himself, Mochida.

Yukio merely gave a peace sign. "Yo! Cheating dirtbag. What's up?" This only served to irritate Mochida further.

"You have some nerve showing your face like this after you made a fool of me the other day!" Yukio shrugged.

"Yep. I sure do if I'm not afraid of a cowardly cheater like you." All of this was said in a sarcastic tone of voice of course.

Mochida growled. "Why you-?! You're gonna be sorry you were ever born when we're through with you!" The other members of the kendo team drew their shinai. Yukio sighed.

"Hey, Yamamoto-san." It was at this point that Yukio noticed the serious expression on Yamamoto's face. Like he was ready to take these guys on for Yukio's sake. He turned to Yukio. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up." Yukio gave a confident smirk. Yamamoto seemed unsure, but nodded.

All at once, his cheerful expression returned. "If you say so! See you later!" Yamamoto then ran off, leaving Yukio against the bulk of the kendo team.

"You have quite a lot of guts trying to take us on, Orihara!"

"We're gonna mop the floor with you!"

"Yeah, you garbage!" Yukio's eye twitched on that last insult, but he hid it under his pleasant expression.

"Is that so? In that case," Yukio's pleasant expression faded. "GET READY TO HAVE YOUR ASSES HANDED TO YOU!" It seemed a little unnecessary to shout this loud. Everyone was at the volleyball game or here, ready to kick his ass.

The first who stepped up to him was clearly a beginner due to his rather improper stance.

The beginner kendo practitioner swung clumsily at Yukio who easily ducked to avoid the attack. It was almost sad how easily he went down after Yukio landed a powerful kick to his gut. He fell like to the ground like a sack of rocks.

Three others took the opportunity to try to get a hit on Yukio, but using his advantage of speed, he weaved his way through them like a knife through butter. Once he was behind them, he crouched and knocked them of their feet with a sweep of a kick.

Clearly frustrated, another tried to strike Yukio from behind...

Another thing about Yukio...he tends to be an EXCELLENT combat strategist.

Knowing the sneak attack was coming, he flipped backward, using the shoulder of the attacker as leverage to vault over him. Yukio successfully dodged that blow as the attacker was unable to control his momentum as he crashed forward into another one of his comrades, who in turn crashed into two more of his comrades.

Yukio couldn't help but grin.

_Ah domino effect. Where would we be without you?_

"I GOT YOU NOW!" Yukio turned in time to defend against a blow from Mochida with his arms. Mochida bared his teeth as the two of them struggled to push the other back. "Not so tough now, are you, White Flash?!"

Yukio smirked. "Hey, Mochida!"

The baldy blinked "What?!"

He didn't notice Yukio bringing up his leg until it was too late. "Buster...KICK!" Yukio's foot hit right under Mochida's chin, sending him a few feet into the air before dropping to the ground like a ragdoll.

"Give up!" Shouted one.

"You can't beat all of us!"

"Give up and we might leave some of your bones intact."

Yukio tapped his chin. "Tempting. Very tempting. But then Hibari-san wouldn't get to have his fun." This made all of them tense.

"Noisy herbivores, for disturbing the peace, I'll bite you to death."

He had short black hair, with a fringe that joined at the center of his face and parted to the sides, leaving a sort of "M" shape. He had sharp, grey eyes, which only served to intimidate the conscious kendo practitioners further. He wore his usual Discipline Committee uniform, which consisted of a long-sleeved white shirt, black trousers, brown belt, black shoes (or indoor shoes), and black gakuran top worn on his shoulders, with the committee's armband pinned onto the left sleeve.

The kendo team tried to move, but were petrified from fear. Only Yukio had the bravery or the stupidity to wave.

"Yo. What's up, Hibari-san? Brutalize anybody interesting recently?" Hibari took out his well known tonfas and took a stance as if to strike. Clearly Yukio had pissed him off just by being there.

"I'll bite you to death first, annoying herbivore."

Another well known thing about Yukio is that he is the only person to have escaped Hibari's wrath due to his incredible speed. This didn't settle well with Hibari, who never missed the chance to try to bite Yukio to death and watched him more closely than most other students.

But perhaps he saw it as more of a game considering he never hunted Yukio down during class. Maybe this was how Hibari refrained from getting bored. Whatever the case, it is well known that if these two are with range of one another, you better be prepared to run just in case.

Yukio shrugged. "Fine. I guess you're really determined about this."

Before Yukio could say anything else, Hibari dashed toward him. He swung one tonfa and Yukio met the blow with one of his own kicks. If this had been an anime battle between a hero and an enemy, there would've been a huge explosion that would've decimated a fair amount of the school. Hibari brought his other tonfa down on Yukio's other leg only for Yukio to pull away. Hibari finished by charging forward and delivering a hit on Yukio's stomach.

Yukio accepted the hit. It was better to have a sore torso than a broken leg. He skidded backwards as the other kendo team members began muttering among themselves.

"Hey. With Hibari-san is on our side, we might be able to beat the White Flash."

"Let's get'em!" They all began charging toward Yukio at the exact same moment as Hibari. Due to their overconfidence, the kendo team didn't notice the smirk that once again appeared on Yukio's face.

_All according to plan._

Much to the kendo team's confusion, Yukio ran toward Hibari, the greater of two pains.

Once he was within range, Hibari swung his tonfa once more...but Yukio was not captured by it's iron. When Hibari had been pulling back to strike, Yukio placed a hand on his shoulder and used him as leverage to vault over him, breaking into a dash the moment his feet hit the ground.

"Sorry, Hibari-san! Maybe someday, but not today!"

Yukio noticed that despite the fact that he'd move out of the way, Hibari still had killing intent as he ran toward the kendo team.

Yukio could hear their cries of pain as they experienced the terror known as Hibari.

Yukio could visualize Hibari saying something along the lines of "Interfering herbivores will be bitten to death."

_Now on to the stadium._

* * *

It wasn't that difficult to sneak into the stadium where the volleyball game had been taking place.

He immediately found Yamamoto and walked over to him as the game continued.

Yamamoto grinned when he saw Yukio. "Yo, Yukio! Glad to see you made it!"

Yukio shrugged. "I said not to worry about it. Besides, I promised that I-why is Sawada blocking with his man parts?" Yamamoto shrugged this time.

"But whatever the case, he's really good!"

_He knows the meaning of self-sacrifice. That's for sure._

Yukio watched the game as Tsuna's team managed a victory despite how far behind they had originally been. He didn't even have that crazy aura he had when he beat Mochida.

Yukio smiled genuinely.

_Sawada Tsunayoshi. You are one interesting individual._

But then Yukio tensed. He looked around for the source of his unease, but couldn't see anything other than his cheering classmates. His thoughts were interrupted when Yamamoto nudged his shoulder.

"Something wrong?"

Yukio shook his head. "It's fine." He then turned to leave. "The game's over. Should head home now."

Yamamoto grinned and nodded. The two friends then departed and began walking home.

_It might've been my imagination, but I could've sworn someone was watching me...and maybe one other person._

* * *

As they made their way back to their individual homes, all was silent...until Yamamoto opened his mouth.

"So what happened with those kendo guys?" He asked.

Yukio had a sly smile on his face. "They got a taste of one of Yukio Orihara's KO traps is what happened."

Yamamoto had a curious expression. Yukio chose to clarify.

"It was an effective, yet simple plan. First, I mare sure to really make some noise so I could wake up Hibari-san on the roof. Then it was the simple matter of taking care of those creeps until he arrived so I could have him wind up taking out his bloodlust on them."

"But couldn't you have just beaten them yourself?"

"Well, yeah, but then the game would've been over by the time I got there. That and it was fun to see Hibari-san kick the crap out of them." Yukio neglected to mention he didn't actually SEE them getting beaten up.

"I see."

"Now I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Earlier...were you...actually going to fight those guys?" Yamamoto grinned like it wasn't even a question.

"Well, if they were going to try and hurt you, then I was going to have to help you out. That's what friends do."

"Friends?" Yamamoto nodded. Yukio felt a little guilty. He had been so rude to Yamamoto, but he was still willing to fight for him? Yukio then smiled to himself. Now certain about what had been troubling him. "Yeah. I guess we friends do have to stick together, don't we?"

Yukio felt a slight twinge of annoyance as Yamamoto draped his arm over Yukio's shoulder, but he let it go this one time.

"That's right, buddy!" This time, Yukio had to admit his mother had a point.

Friends were nice to have. They were some of the few people you could trust.

* * *

It didn't take that much time before they reached the road where they had to part ways for the day.

Yukio looked back on the day's events with an analytical point of view.

For him, the day had been fairly pleasant. He hadn't gotten any stupider, he now knew that (despite being an idiot) Yamamoto was someone he could count on, and he taught the guys from the kendo team a lesson. A fairly good day indeed.

The only thing that bothered him was the distinct feeling he was being watched.

He shrugged off the feeling and continued on his way home. It was all probably just in his head. "I should see if mom needs any help with dinner."

He didn't, however, notice a certain fedora-wearing baby watching him from a hidden location not too far away.

"Orihara Yukio. A skilled tactician as well as a fairly skilled fighter. You would make an excellent addition to the family..."

**Finally DONE! Be grateful! I ended up having to write this on my Ipad because the computer was a little busted. It should be good tomorrow and I shall be sure to continue writing at that point in time.**

**On a completely different note...who thinks that Yamamoto didn't look as cool in the early chapters of the manga? He looked too serious despite his character.**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW WITH YOUR DYING WILL!**

**Thank you!**

**Bye-Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we GO! CHAPTER THREE! I'll be skimming through things a little bit.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC's!**

**Chapter 3**

Yukio couldn't help but notice the minor changes to his daily life ever since the day Tsunayoshi decided to go streaking.

Somehow his mother made time to come early every night. Yukio had a more friendly disposition towards Yamamoto despite his over-cheerful personality. His trip to school had returned to taking the average amount of time rather than the relatively long amount of time it took before. There was also the new transfer student who came to Namimori a day or two ago.

At first Yukio was ready to mop the floors with him after he started picking on Tsuna for no reason. But yet somehow, the day after, Gokudera had become something like Tsuna's lapdog (despite his objections). Yukio had to admit it was a little entertaining. Gokudera more or less mellowed out.

He was still a jerk to most people who bothered him without a reason, but he at least he wasn't throwing chairs out windows.

Other than the incident with Tsuna, Yukio had no grudge against Gokudera. He didn't try to befriend him either because Gokudera still had that hard-to-approach attitude. He honestly wanted to avoid hanging around him as much as possible...

But fate had other plans.

Today was the day that Yukio's teacher, Mr. Nezu, was handing back science tests.

No surprise, but Yukio scored an 87 on his test. Despite being a total asshole, Yukio never said anything when he went about flaunting his 'Elite' training about.

One such moment was when he handed back Tsuna's test.

"Sawada, this is just hypothetically speaking, but let's just say there's a sole student that scores in the 20 point range and painfully lowers the class average. According to me, who's come through an elite course, that kind of person will just be baggage and a burden on the education-conscious society." The jerk adjusted his glasses as he gave Tsuna a rather high and mighty look. "Is there a reason for trash like that to live?" Tsuna jumped in shock. Even Yukio's eyes widened.

_Dude, we get you got some elite training or whatever, but now you're just being a total and extreme asshole._

Yamamoto was unfortunately in asleep as his desk, so Yukio didn't have any release from this madness (the irony was not lost on him that he needed Yamamoto to ESCAPE from insanity). Everyone else was too busy laughing at Tsuna for failing yet another test. Yukio couldn't take it anymore.

"You know, sometimes they say it's the TEACHER'S fault if a student fails." He stated before he could stop himself. "So if Tsuna's a failure who shouldn't be allowed to live, what does that make you?" Clearly Yukio had struck a nerve because Mr. Nezu shot him the evil eye before adjusting his glasses.

"Orihara, this is also hypothetically speaking, but say an outcast student disrespects someone from an elite course and defends a person who is trash. Would that student be like or worse than that trash?" By this point, Yukio was extremely tempted to go berserk and kick Nezu's ass. Everyone could see that he was beginning to lose his composure and were wondering whether or not he would go off.

Until Gokudera arrived, that is.

"Hey! You're late! What do you think you're doing coming in at this time?!" Gokudera turned and gave the teacher a total death stare that totally terrified Nezu. People began gossiping around about how Gokudera supposedly beat the crap out of some of their senpais. Yukio had to give him points for being a total badass...

These points were lost when Gokudera immediately began acting all buddy-buddy (an expression that seemed strange on such a delinquent-looking kind of guy) around Tsuna.

Yukio saw what was coming a mile away when Mr. Nezu adjusted his glasses in his usual stuck up manner.

"This is just hypothetically speaking, but let's just say there's a student who carelessly comes late to class. Without question he hangs out with loser trash because like-people gravitate toward one another."

This got on Gokudera's nerves for some reason. Before the teacher could figure out what was going on, Gokudera was grabbing him by his collar, giving the teacher his death stare.

"I won't forgive any insults to the the Tenth, Sawada!" Gokudera then lifted the teacher into the air. Yukio then realized what was going on after his anger ceased.

_Well...I don't see this ending well for us._

* * *

Yukio was proven right when the three of them ended up in the principal's office.

"YOU GUYS ARE EXPELLED!" ranted Nezu.

"Calm down, Nezu-kun." said the principal, attempting to smooth over the situation.

"How can I stay calm? I was assaulted physically!" Yukio's eye twitched.

_Physically, but not brutally enough...I knew I shouldn't have pulled Gokudera off him so soon._

"But to just expel them now might be too hasty..." Stated the principal. Clearly Nezu didn't like any option ending with the three students remaining in school.

"So giving them a probational period would be fine."

They then began discussing something about a time capsule, but Yukio pretty much zoned out and began playing some of his favorite songs in his head.

_Let me burn..._  
_It's not a sin to burn and try to embrace you, is it?_  
_Purify the darkness with fire in the CHOIR JAIL._

_Even if you grieve, the dream will not sing._  
_I screamed here, "Who is the answer waiting for?"_  
_I won't notice if I keep looking down._  
_I search for the future in your eyes._

_If you can identify a miracle,_  
_Then let's wipe away our dripping tears, look ahead_-  
_  
_Yukio's inner musings were interrupted as he noticed that they were speaking directly to the three accused.

Nezu had a smug expression that made Yukio think this was not going to be pleasant.

"Let's have these guys do it." He stated. "If they can dig up the 15 year old time capsule by today, then this issue will be forgiven. But if they can't...EXPELLED IMMEDIATELY!" Gokudera glared daggers at Nezu while Tsuna began his usual flipping out.

"THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!"

Yukio, however, was detached. He didn't want to get expelled, but he needed to remain cool and in control if he wanted to keep himself and the other two in school.

* * *

And somehow he ended up finding Gokudera coming out of a small hidden door along with a small baby wearing a suit, a fedora, and having a chameleon perched on his hat. The most noticeable thing about him other than the fact he was a baby was the strange yellow pacifier he wore around his neck.

"Reborn-san was instructing me on the basics of killing." Gokudera said respectfully to Tsuna. Yukio found himself on his tippy toes to look into the room behind him.

_How did that baby build that...more importantly, why is a baby here at all?!_

He was interrupted as Gokudera got on his knees in front of Tsuna. "More importantly, I'm very sorry!" He shouted. "Things turned out like this without me even knowing you didn't want to be expelled that badly!" Yukio couldn't help but feel curious.

_Something about this feels off somehow...before Gokudera looked like he wanted to kill Tsuna, but now he's Tsuna's servant? And why does that baby have that rather annoying 'all-knowing' look that's really beginning to piss me off?!_

"By the way, not to ruin Gokudera-san's whole 'having no pride' thing, but who the Hell is this brat?"

He was answered when said baby leaped off the ground and delivered a good kick to Yukio's face. Yukio fell back to the ground with Tsuna letting out a 'HIIEE!'.

"For you're information, I am the world's strongest hitman, Reborn. I am currently here to train the Te-" He didn't say anything else because Tsuna soundly clamped his hands over Reborn's face. Yukio's sweat dropped.

"I see...Well...You do have the kung-fu kick to prove it..." He was clearly confused about the current situation as Tsuna was delivered a kick to the face similar to the one Yukio just received.

Gokudera ran off, saying something about using dynamite to find the time capsule with Yukio scoffing.

"Apparently he has the mind set that he can just go buy sticks of dynamite from a convenience store like candy. I mean really?" Yukio laughed monotonously as he lacked the energy or joy to laugh for real. "Isn't that right Tsuna?" He noticed Tsuna fidget nervously, but just ignored it as the fear of getting expelled.

Yukio then stretched his arms nonchalantly. "Well. No reason to let Silver-head do this on his own, right Tsuna-san?"

Tsuna jumped at being addressed. "Y-Yeah." He had clearly been surprised that Yukio didn't refer to him as Dame-Tsuna like most of the others had. "Um...I'm sorry!" Tsuna bowed nervously. Yukio gave him a slightly confused look.

"For what? All we have to do is find this time capsule and we're all good, right?" He then assumed something of a runner's position as he faced the other direction. "SO...LET'S GO!" He then took of with a burst of speed, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

* * *

It only took a good five minutes for his confidence to vanish.

"Oh who am I kidding? We're totally screwed." He admitted. "I don't even have the slightest clue where to start looking." He looked high and low, but he saw no sign that any earth had been disturbed any more recently than the rest of it.

He began grinding his teeth. "I can almost hear that bastard laughing at us right now." He then glanced at a nearby bush. "And it's even more annoying when people are eavesdropping." A shadowy figure leaped out from the bushes.

"I'm impressed." Came a suprisingly high yet monotone voice. Yukio quickly rolled out of the way as unknown projectiles pierced the ground where he had been standing a moment before.

Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be small, needle-like objects. Senbons. A small area where they struck began to slowly freeze over. Just like the ground, the senbons appeared to have been made out of-

"Ice?" Yukio asked. The figure landed on the ground not too far from him. Yukio blink when he got a good look at her.

She was a small child, like that strange baby, Reborn. She had snow-white hair and violet eyes. She was dressed in a small white high-collared shirt with sleeves far too long for her along with white shorts. The most noticeable thing about her was the shining pacifier around her neck. It was a bright blue-almost white-color. Most would think the look on her face was one of annoyance or anger, but Yukio knew better.

There was no emotion on her face. It was simply focus. Pure focus.

Yukio calmly brushed himself off. "Children shouldn't play with such dangerous toys." He paused as he felt another senbon just barely graze his cheek.

He noticed that despite the fact she was practically emotionless, there was a feeling of annoyance emanating from her. "Leave." It was a simple command, but Yukio was sure she wouldn't give him the chance to follow more than once.

Yukio's eyes narrowed. "I should listen to you why exactly?" The pale-skinned child drew three more ice senbons with her sleeved hands.

"Because. My only target is Vongola Decimo and I'd appreciate it if you didn't make my job any harder." Yukio raised an eyebrow.

"Vongola...Decimo?" Yukio didn't know Italian, but he was pretty sure that meant something along the lines of 'Vongola the Tenth'. "Are you referring to some kind of mafia boss or something? Cos if so, I think you're in the wrong place. This is just an ordinary school with ordinary annoying students-" He was interrupted as the ground shook violently, the sounds of explosions not too far in the distance. "-and apparently we have an explosion problem." His thoughts wandered back to Gokudera and his 'fireworks'.

_Was he...? Neh...But...Please tell me the gangster isn't a terrorist...  
_

The baby took all this in stride. "Negative. My sources are quite reliable. And they have said that the Tenth boss to be of the Vongola famiglia is currently in Namimori."

Yukio resisted the urge to laugh. Mostly because it would be out of character for him. "Sorry. But this is not some Italian mob crime hotspot. Who is this so-called Tenth boss?"

The baby remained calm and collected. "My sources have confirmed that the identity of Vongola Decimo is that of a descendant of Vongola Primo. Sawada Tsunayoshi." Yukio couldn't help snorting at that statement.

Despite his laughter, he quickly regained his composure. "Sorry, but I think you got the wrong guy. Sawada? As in Dame-Tsuna? He seems like a good kid, but he doesn't have the hand-eye coordination...or any real coordination at all needed to be a mafia boss even if everything you were saying wasn't absolutely absurd." The baby gave him a blank look that told him she was ignoring everything he said.

"Irrelevant. My target is Sawada Tsunayoshi and I will complete my contract to terminate him." Yukio gave her a wary look.

"Is that so?" Yukio began walking until he was perfectly blocking the baby's path to Tsuna. "In that case, I'm afraid this is the part where I, being the protagonist of this situation, defeat you, the evil antagonist assassin even though you are but a baby."

_Eh. This is probably all just some kinda of crazy psychedelic hallucination anyway. If not, then all the more reason to intervene._

"I am giving you one final chance: Step aside or meet your end along with Decimo." Yukio adopted an expression of false thought.

"Hmm...I think I'll pass." Yukio adopted a fighting stance. He ducked as several senbons resembling the first were flung at the spot his head had just been occupying.

"So be it." stated the child. "It is always more honorable for me to introduce myself to my targets. I am Setsuko the Frozen Ice. I am a professional assassin."

Yukio smirked. "Considering me a target? At least it means you consider me a worthy adversary." He dodge rolled out of the way as more senbons hit the ground where he had just been. Already the spots where the senbons struck were beginning to freeze.

_Clearly I do not want to get hit by those._

"Don't think too far into it." stated Setsuko. "Anyone who I'm paid to take out and who gets in my way becomes a target and part of the job."

"I see. Then shall we fight?" Setsuko made the first move.

She threw several senbon at Yukio who quickly ran out of the way. He then began running toward her in a zig-zag pattern as to avoid getting hit. Setsuko launched senbon after senbon at Yukio, each failing to hit its mark. After a few seconds, Yukio was right in front of her, preparing to deliver a kick.

"Oh no." she stated, monotone. "You are about to defeat me just by kicking me one time...Not." Before Yukio could react, her hands moved like lightning. Yukio didn't even know what was happening until he was thrown back by the force of a few dozen needles. The young boy vanished in the dust created by his impact into the nearby wall.

Setsuko narrowed her eyes. From the way the boy spoke, she had honestly expected him to last just a bit longer. She turned to leave when...

"Hey! We're not done yet!" Setsuko paused before returning her attention to the area she had sent the young student flying in. The dust cleared to show Yukio still standing. He had his arms crossed in a defensive position, several needles were embedded in his arms.

The surface of the areas that had been struck were beginning to slowly freeze. The cold might have been getting to Yukio because he seemed to be breathing in and out rather slowly.

He lowered his arms rather slowly. "So it wasn't just a trick."

Setsuko nodded. "It is a specially modified venom that reacts instantly with most non-water surfaces by freezing the surface solid. Each of my senbons are coated with this special venom."

Yukio smirked. "Then I guess it's lucky me that they are too small to have that much coated on. Otherwise, the freezing might've gone deeper in then just my skin." Setsuko narrowed her eyes at him.

"I see you will not play dead."

"Like I said, I'm not gonna let you get to Tsuna." He didn't even flinch as another senbon scratched his cheek, the very top layer of his skin freezing over.

"Fool. The difference in our strengths is far too different for you to even consider fighting on par with me." She then pulled something from her pocket. It was a vial filled with a strange liquid. "Here."

Yukio raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"An anti-venom solution. Even though it's slow, it will eventually spread though your body and you WILL freeze to death."

Yukio gave her a blank stare. "So...you're just giving it to me?" Setsuko nodded.

"A side effect of this version of the anti-venom will knock you out for a few hours. By then I will have been able to complete my mission and you can be on your merry way."

"That so?" Yukio held out his hand as Setsuko threw him the vial. "So...either drink it or die...Not a tough choice there..."

"Glad you see it that way," she replied, not having very much happiness in her voice. She turned to leave and began to walk away.

She quickly flipped into the air as a familiar vial smashed onto the ground in front of her. She turned back to Yukio, who was now cracking his knuckles. For just a brief second, surprise flashed across her face. "What are you doing?"

Yukio brushed himself off. "Allow me to repeat: Like I said, not a tough choice. There's no way in Hell I'm going to let you kill Tsuna! It doesn't matter mafia, No-Good, or just a random person! I won't let you harm any innocent people! Even if it costs me my life to stop you!" He then foolishly charged at Setsuko once more. She was surprised at how much his speed had increased then last time.

She couldn't help but wonder. _Has he been hiding his true strength all along?_

Setsuko bobbed and weaved as Yukio began to deliver a barrage of speedy kicks. Despite how much or where he swung, Yukio's attack only met air. There was still something

"Well. While kicks are good for keeping the distance between you and your opponent while still dealing potentially damaging attacks." He replied, not letting up on his barrage. "Buster...KICK!" Yukio attempted to deliver a kick to his opponent's side while he distracted her with his other blows, but she easily grabbed onto his leg. Before Yukio could shake her off, she drew three more senbons in either of her sleeved hands. She ran along the length of Yukio's leg despite his attempts to punch at her. She easily dodged his fists and jammed the senbons into his flesh at random intervals, shoving the last one through his shoulder blade.

Yukio cringed in pain as Setsuko leaped from his shoulder to the ground behind him. He felt his strength begin to be sapped from him as his body temperature began to decrease more and more.

This wasn't the simple cold that Yukio so enjoyed. It was something so twisted and warped, it made him want to throw up. It was far from the cold soothed that soothed him so much. He tried to stand, but was rendered unable to as two senbons pierced through the back of either of his legs, causing Yukio to fall forward on all fours.

"Are you ready to submit yet?" asked the Ice Assassin mockingly. "With this many blows, it's only a matter of time until you freeze to death anyway. You might as well give up on resisting and save yourself some suffering." Yukio tried to form words, but he could just barely control his shivering as he began to see his breath in front of him.

Yukio tried to stand up, but his trembling legs gave way, sending him to the ground.

_Damn it...damn it..._

Yukio turned his glare toward the ground, unsure who his anger and frustration was directed towards: Setsuko, the world, or himself.

Setsuko watched Yukio finally stumble to his feet, a possibly bored expression apparent on her cold and cruel face. "How long will you continue to get back up? You have no chance of victory."

Yukio grinned weakly. "N-never know un-until you try..." His voice was beginning to chatter.

Setsuko sighed. " It is time to finish this..." Before Yukio could process his thoughts, Setsuko leaped inhumanly high into the air, her long sleeves swaying in the breeze.

"Feel the wrath of my Senbon Assassination Techniques: Icicle Rainstorm." Setsuko then began spinning at an incredible speed that made Yukio's eyes hurt. Then all at once, thousands of miniature senbons came firing out of her small vortex like a Gatling gun.

Darkness quickly clouded his eyes as he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Yukio didn't know how long he was out. His memory was foggy at best.

He considered just staying asleepd...But he felt someone poking him and shouting. It eventually got on his nerves. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the scowling face of Gokudera. Yukio was tempted to close his eyes again when the image of a small, snow-haired baby came to mind. Yukio quickly shot up, knocking Gokudera back to the ground.

"Tsuna!" Yukio shouted in concern. The sight of a healthy Tsuna greeted him. "The Assassin!" Tsuna fell back in shock.

"HIEE!" Yukio's eyes darted from side to side, as if searching for some threat.

"Where is she?! Where's the assassin?!" Gokudera rubbed his head.

"What are you talking about, Lazy Idiot?" He asked, 'Lazy Idiot' apparently being Yukio's new nickname. But he did tense for just a second on the word 'assassin'. "We're the only ones here. While you were busy sleeping, me and Tenth found a way to keep him from getting expelled."

Yukio glared. "But I wasn't sleeping! There was this kid with senbons! She fought me and stabbed me a bunch of times! I couldn't move as fast cos she was freezing me and-" Yukio then noticed his arms. He looked them over good, but no injuries were apparent on his flawless skin. For the first time in his life, Yukio was stunned. "B-but the assassin-a-and the freezing! And-and NEEDLES!" He looked around for any evidence that the previous fight had been anything but a dream. But no evidence existed. No used senbons littered the ground. No craters of any kind. No injuries on Yukio. Nothing.

"A-Are you alright, Orihara-san?" Yukio turned to Tsuna, prepared to say something nasty out of frustration, was surprised to see nothing but concern in the boy's eyes. Yukio blushed slightly before turning away.

"Y-yeah. It's nothing." Yukio held out his open hand in front of him.

_Was it really a dream?...It felt so real...God...My head hurts...Yeah...guess it was just a dream..._

This was what he thought until he noticed something in his right hand. Yukio's eyes widened. He kept a calm composition and stood, brushing himself off.

"You said you kept us from getting expelled, right, Silver-head?" Gokudera glared at Yukio, but nodded.

Yukio then turned. "In that case, I'll see you later." He began to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yukio didn't turn. Gokudera didn't notice him clenching his fists.

"None of your business, Gokudera-san." Yukio glanced at Tsuna and nodded. "Sawada." Yukio then broke out in a dash, running as fast as his legs could carry him. Gokudera glared on after him.

"Tch. How dare he be so rude toward Tenth?" But Tsuna was troubled.

Shortly before turning away, it had been brief, but Tsuna caught a strange expression on Yukio's face just before he left.

It was a cross between anger, annoyance...and sorrow.

* * *

Far from where any of the three teens stood, two certain people were conversing with another.

The shortest of the two girls had a slight hint of amusement in her monotone voice. "You're right." she stated. "The boy has potential."

"That's because there are normally two people who are always right in this world." The older, much kinder voice stated. "That's the World's Greatest Hitman, Reborn...and me."

"Don't let the fedora-wearing jerk hear you say that." replied the baby, a hint of annoyance in her voice at the thought of the baby hitman. "His ego's big enough as it is."

"Oh, I don't see why you and Reborn don't get along, Setsuko. You two are quite alike is some ways." Setsuko opened her mouth to say something, but shook her head.

"There's something else we need to discuss..." The older woman nodded.

"He still hasn't gained enough strength...not that he would've stood much of a chance in a serious fight against you anyway, but..." There was nothing but worry in the older woman's voice.

"The boy still has no regard for his own life...as terrible as it sounds."

"I believe that may be my fault." stated the woman sadly. "I wasn't strong enough to protect him..." Setsuko began to feel awkward despite her unchanging expression. She jumped up and sat on the woman's shoulder, patting it slowly.

"There...there...Despite what you may believe, that boy still has your morals. You at least instilled that in him."

The woman shook her head. "So what should we do?"

"Nothing. The boy must find his own path. If he can manage to find what lays at the end, then he is truly worthy to serve Vongola the Tenth." Setsuko paused, causing the older woman to turn to her. "..but still...that boy...he has yet to find his true weapon. From my fight with him, I can tell he plays it by the ear despite being a so-called strategist. He has no style of any kind...That is a problem that will have to be rectified some time soon."

The Ice Assassin leaped from the older woman's shoulder and landed on the ground. "But it's amazing..."

"What is?"

"By the time I came back with the anti-venom, his body was already adapting and fighting off its effects. He would've been fine with or without the precaution, isn't that right, Kazu?" There was a brief squeak of agreement as a small white mouse appeared on top of Setsuko's head.

The woman's expression became ice cold. "However, if Yuki-kun had died, you would've found yourself in a worse place then Hell. You do realize that, right?" Setsuko froze.

"H-Hai..."

* * *

Yukio punched the wall as many times as he could until his fists started hurting.

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" Yukio returned home immediately after leaving school. He couldn't help but try to let out all of his frustration.

The one thing he was glad about was that his mother was not home to become worried about him. Yukio punched the wall until he ended up on the ground, panting.

"Why...why am I still so weak?...Why couldn't I land a single blow?" Yukio bit his lower lip. "Have I really changed so little...since that time?"

Yukio was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Yukio sighed.

"I wonder who that could be?" He asked rhetorically.

Yukio slowly made his way to the door and opened to reveal his friend with the goofy grin.

"Yo! Yukio!" Yukio sighed.

"Hello, Yamamoto-san." He said with little enthusiasm. Yamamoto was still grinning.

"You wanna hang out?" was the usual straight forward question. Yukio was extremely tempted to say no and slam the door in Yamamoto's face...but something prevented him from doing so.

Yukio sighed. "Fine." He looked once more into the house before walking outside and shutting the door behind him. He barely glanced at Yamamoto the entire day. Yamamoto didn't notice either way so it didn't matter.

But Yukio's thoughts kept on wandering back to the young assassin.

_If she was there to assassinate Tsuna...why isn't he dead yet?...Tsunayoshi Sawada continues to raise more and more questions with each passing day..._

**Done! I hope you all enjoyed!...I apologize for it being a little choppy at certain parts, but I did warn you I was skimming.  
**

**I have several announcements to make.**

**First off, I'm not going to be doing every last bit of the Daily Life arc so I want you guys to tell me in the review box which chapters of the manga you want me to do (of course the Yamamoto attempting suicide thing is happening, but I want other ideas). Which of the chapters will it be? Cos I have no idea what to do next.**

**Second. In this chapter, I had a certain someone mention that Yukio was going to need a true weapon. This was not to simply move the story along. I've decided to stray from kicks and to go on to real weapons. Here are choices:**

**Broadsword (Like Cloud or Allen Walker)**

**Zweihander**

**Bladed Gauntlet**

**Maybe Shurikens or Kunai knives**

**Giant Hammer (Lavi-style) with a snowflake design on either flat end.**

**Cleaver**

**And whatever else you guys can think of. If one of these weapons wins a majority of the votes or someone sends in a weapon idea I find totally badass, then I will completely go over the voters heads and choose that one...no polearms though. No scythes, staffs, Bo staffs. None of the polearms. Not because I don't like polearms, but I have no idea how to write fights involving polearms and it normally ends up being rather poor in quality. So yeah. Just type in your choice of weapon in the review box. And it can't be a weapon already taken like Yamamoto's samurai sword, Hibari's tonfas, Ryohei's super punches, Mukuro's trident, Tsuna's gloves, Gokudera's dynamite, or Lambo's...lightning? None of that. Those are the only limits I am placing.**

**No weapons currently being used by the Guardians (but there can be varations like different types of swords or other stuff like that. Anything that comes to mind) and no polearms.**

**That is all.**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW WITH YOUR DYING WILL!  
**

**Bye-Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope y'all have enjoyed up to this point...COS THE STORY'S OVER!...Kidding. As long as I'm breathing, this story SHALL continue!...until I hit a MAJOR roadblock...but until then, enjoy.**

**Remember, NOT YAOI! Yukio just isn't used to compliments or having friends. I guess he's kinda tsundere.  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC's.**

**Chapter 4**

The young boy waited as his father sat content while watching TV...for once.

But he knew it was only a matter of time before the man snapped for no good reason. The boy was just glad his mother was busy fetching groceries. She would not return for a while which meant that she would not be here when it happened.

The boy waited patiently at the table, trying to see if it was possible to go a whole day without disturbing his father. Perhaps even if he did, his father would be less violent today.

That was what he hoped each and every day. It rarely ever went that way.

This was proven true a moment later.

Whether it was because the TV went to commercial or because he ran out of booze, the boy would never know.

The moment either of those happened, the boy's father angrily got out of his chair and looked around before resting his eyes on the boy, giving him an impossibly hateful glare.

He stomped toward the boy as the boy looked around for something, ANYTHING, that could help him.

He raised his arms as his father pulled back his fist, knowing it to be pointless in the end.

_"Yukio. Hey. Yukio..."_

Not. It couldn't keep going like this.

_"Time to get up."_

The boy refused to let this continue. Something had to be done.

_"Yukio!"_

* * *

"SHUT UP!" Yukio brought his fist around to whomever had been calling his name, hitting him square in the jaw.

Yukio huffed and huffed as it took him a few moments to realize he was awake. And everyone was staring.

Yukio felt his cheeks heat up a little out of embarrassment.

"S-Sorry..." He then looked to see whom he had punched.

Laying on the ground, his soul starting to leave his body, was Yamamoto.

Yukio's eyes widened. "Oh crap! Don't die, Yamamoto!" He grabbed Yamamoto by the collar and began to shake him to wake up. "You hear me?! If you die, I will kick your ass!"

Of course none of this helped the situation.

Everyone would've gone to help Yamamoto, but they were afraid of Yukio's mean right hook.

* * *

"So are you SURE we're good?" Yukio asked his best friend as they stood alongside their teammates for the baseball game that day.

Yamamoto laughed. "Don't worry about it, Yukio. It just shows me not to mess with your naps." Yukio blushed as he usually did out of embarrassment.

_Blushing has become a bad habit lately. I should really train myself to control it better...Goddamn humiliation and embarrassment..._

Yukio couldn't help but wonder how Yamamoto smiled all the time.

Perhaps it was because he finally got Yukio to play baseball for once rather than going to go hide under the bleachers.

And everybody knew there was pretty much nothing Yamamoto Takeshi loved more than baseball.

"Are we done choosing teams?"

Yukio was brought back to reality.

"Just one left." You didn't have to be a genius to figure out who the 'one' was.

And of course bickering ensued after realizing SOMEBODY had to have Sawada Tsunayoshi on their team.

"I'm saying you can have Dame-Tsuna on your team."

"No way! We don't want to lose. He was amazing at volleyball, but we all know he sucks at baseball." Yukio scoffed at this.

"They're making such a big deal over a simple game..." Eventually, Yukio got sick of the arguing.

"We'll take him." He stated plainly. Everyone gaped as Yukio raised his hand. "Just strike out the other guys and it'll be fine." He could tell his teammates were about to say something to him, but then Yamamoto threw an arm over one of the displeased player's shoulder.

"Yukio's right."

They were still upset. "Are you serious, Yamamoto? You don't have to let that loser in. Even Orihara's a stretch by this point." Yukio resisted the urge to scowl and beat the offender upside the head.

"Don't be so stingy. It's like Yukio said. We just have to keep them from hitting, right?" Somehow, it sounded more reasonable to them when Yamamoto said it.

"Well...I guess so...Alright."

* * *

And yet they still lost.

As much as Yukio wanted to pin the blame on Tsunayoshi, he knew it didn't help that he was clearly not skilled at baseball.

He struck out the first time he stepped up to the plate. The third time, the ball ended up hitting him in the face.

That certainly left a painful bruise.

And now he was facing punishment.

"It's all Orihara and Dame-Tsuna's fault!"

"I told you they shouldn't have been on the team!" Yukio glared at them.

_You know. If I actually gave a damn for your opinion, I would've asked for it._

"Sweep the field by yourselves!" Yukio resisted the urge to spit at them as he and Tsunayoshi both grabbed brooms. Yukio hated work, but it felt wrong to let Tsunayoshi to do it on his own.

"Do it seriously!"

"Losers!" Yukio tightened his grip on his broom.

_That last part wasn't necessary._

He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Tsunayoshi was staring at him uncertainly.

"Help has arrived!" Both of the unskilled baseball players turned to see the master of the game himself holding his own broom.

"Y-Yamamoto?!" Tsunayoshi then began to apologize profusely for not being good at baseball and other things.

Yukio simply shrugged. "Well I suppose in comparison to Yamamoto, while you lack in baseball, you make up for it in kendo and volleyball. That's more sports than either of us could master in a few days."

Yamamoto chuckled halfheartedly. This made Yukio wonder if he said something wrong.

"Yukio's right. I just play baseball like it's all I know."

Tsunayoshi looked shocked. "What are you talking about?! It's that baseball skill that's amazing!" Yamamoto rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's not going that well." Tsunayoshi and Yukio both stared at him.

"Huh?" Yukio began to get worried when Yamamoto's usual smile faded from his face. It wasn't like the other times it had faded momentarily. He showed genuine depression, although Tsunayoshi probably didn't notice it and just mistook it for worry as he hadn't known Yamamoto personally as long as Yukio had.

"Lately, no matter how much I practice, my average is dropping and my fielding is screwing up. At this rate, it'll be the first time I don't start since I first began playing baseball." Yamamoto sighed, only increasing Yukio's worry. "Tsuna...what should I do?"

Tsunayoshi flipped out a little. "You're asking me?!" Yukio felt a little insulted (something that annoyed him) that Yamamoto asked Tsunayoshi rather him.

Yamamoto started grinning again. "Just kidding. Lately, you've just been so reliable so I just..." He trailed off, leaving Yukio even more annoyed as he took this to mean he WASN'T reliable.

_Then again, I HAVE gotten into two different fights in a matter of days._

Yukio shot a death glare that clearly said 'Say something to cheer him up or I will murder you in your sleep'. It annoyed Yukio to an unbelievable extent to see his best friend so depressed. It was so...un-Yamamoto-like. Tsunayoshi wavered under Yukio's stare, but nodded silently._  
_

Tsunayoshi seemed uncertain for a second but gave an uneasy smile. "I guess...more effort is the way to go...I think..." But something about that statement seemed a little false to Yukio.

He let it drop for the moment after Yamamoto replied.

"Yeah." The baseball freak threw his arm over Tsunayoshi's shoulder. "You know, I thought it was that too. We agree as I expected."

Tsunayoshi appeared to be incredibly surprised that what he said actually worked and Yukio released the breath he had been holding.

"Alright!" Yamamoto shouted. "Today, I'm remaining here and practicing like Hell!" Yukio couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his face.

"Just don't overdo it, baseball freak." He stated simply. "And if that's the case, I leave this mess to you guys. Later." Yukio waved goodbye to the two people he considered idiots, but at the same time 'good idiots' before returning home.

* * *

_The next day..._

Yukio had his head laying on his desk out of pure boredom. They were pretty much just reviewing information Yukio practically knew by heart and it was SO boring.

And Tsunayoshi wasn't contributing very much excitement as he usually did.

Other than that, Yukio couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Like something was missing.

"Hey, Yama-" He looked to his right and realized what was missing.

Yamamoto.

Yukio scanned the classroom, but eventually confirmed that his baseball master friend had yet to arrive to class.

This worried Yukio to no end. And this in turn made him annoyed.

_That dumbass! How dare he make me worry about him like this? The moment I see him next, I'm planting my foot up his backside!_

It was at that moment that the classroom door slammed open and a very frantic student ran in.

"Hey, everyone!" Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him. He was panting as if he had run all the way here. "It's Yamamoto..." This is what captured Yukio's attention. "_...Yamamoto is about to jump off the roof!_"

Everyone at first disregarded this.

"OUR Yamamoto?"

"As if. That's impossible."

"This isn't very funny."

The frantic student shook his head. "When he stayed after practicing yesterday, he went too far and broke his arm!" Yukio's eyes widened as they involuntarily shifted to Tsunayoshi who looked extremely pale, realizing the same thing Yukio had.

"Anyway, go to the roof!"

"OKAY!" Everyone else shouted in unison.

It took Yukio a good five minutes to unfreeze from his shock and realize that everyone (even Tsunayoshi) had already gone ahead. He immediately got serious and started running with all of his speed to reach the roof before he was down by one (and his only) friend.

He arrived just in time to see Tsunayoshi roll in front of (most likely by accident) the rusty fence on the other side of which stood Yamamoto.

Everyone (including Tsunayoshi) began to panic.

"If you came to stop me, it's no use." Yamamoto stated sadly. "You should understand my feelings."

"Huh?"

"For someone that's called Dame-Tsuna all the time, you can understand the feeling of preferring to die over failing at everything, right?" Yukio was prepared to beat that stupid smile off the idiot's face, but felt now was not the right moment. Tsunayoshi seemed shocked.

"No..." He finally said after several moments. Yukio's eyes widened slightly. "You and I are so different..."

Yukio realized he had never seen Yamamoto look so pissed off before now.

"How arrogant of the recently awesome Tsunasama! So you're a fine student now as opposed to me?"

"WHA?! N-No! That's wrong! It's because I'm dame!" Yamamoto paused for a moment, trying to decipher what that meant.

Meanwhile, Yukio was trying to figure out if there was a way to force Yamamoto away from his precarious position without killing him.

"Unlike you, I've never put effort into one single thing...! I arrogantly told you 'effort' and such, but I've really done nothing!" Tsunayoshi bowed in apology. "...What I said yesterday was a lie...I'm sorry!" Yukio couldn't help but feel impressed at how well Tsunayoshi was speaking despite the situation. Perhaps it was because he was truly speaking from the heart. "Saying you're frustrated, that you want to die, or you want to die because of a career ending accident...unlike you, I've never had those intense thoughts...In fact, I'm a pathetic person who would have regrets when dying...thinking that if I'm going to die, I should've done it with my dying will, thinking it's a waste to die from something like this..." Tsunayoshi inhaled. "So I can't understand your feelings...sorry."

Yukio felt he was beginning to develop respect for Tsunayoshi...until he tried to turn tail and run that is.

"Wait, Tsuna." Yamamoto reached out and grabbed Tsunayoshi by the collar to stop him. Unfortunately, this caused Tsunayoshi to be yanked back and slam against the already weak, rusty fence. This caused the fence to snap and the two unlucky people near it to fall of the edge of the school building.

...It was lucky Yukio was waiting behind the window below, listening to everything that had gone on.

The moment the two idiots passed by, he lashed out quickly with his hands and grabbed both of them by either of their ankles.

Yukio was almost jerked right out the window with them, but he managed to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Damn it...you two really are idiots." With a great heave, Yukio successfully pulled the two into the window where they all spilled onto the floor.

Yamamoto and Tsunayoshi both stared in surprise at the sudden rescue by Yukio.

Yamamoto scratched his head. "Um...Thanks, Yuki-" Both he and Tsunayoshi paused (Yamamoto being more curious than anything) as they observed the terrifying amount of killing aura radiating from Yukio's body.

"BAKAMOTOOOOOO!" Yukio pulled back his fist and threw it, letting it slammed against the right side of Yamamoto's face. Yamamoto was knocked around more by shock than the actual punch. Tsunayoshi squealed out of surprise.

Yamamoto sat upright to face the still furious looking Yukio. "What's the matter, Yukio?"

It was clear that was not the right thing to say.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?! YOU'RE AN INCREDIBLE IDIOT! THAT'S WHAT'S THE MATTER!" Yukio clenched his fists as he resisted the urge to punch Yamamoto again. "Things don't work out for you so you just decide to end it all?! Idiot! This is possibly the stupidest and most selfish thing you've ever done! What about your old man?! What about me and the rest of your friends?! Think about how WE'd feel if you just...if you just went and died like that..." Both Tsunayoshi and Yamamoto stared at Yukio in absolute silent surprise as he did something they thought truly impossible for him.

Yukio Orihara was crying.

Despite the tears rolling down his cheeks, Yukio maintained an angry expression. He grabbed Yamamoto by the collar and began to shake him furiously.

"You're the only friend I have..." His expression softened and became more sadness than anything. "...if you and Tsunayoshi had died...I would've been all alone again...Just that albino kid who nobody cares for..." Tsunayoshi blinked as he realized what Yukio was saying.

Although it hadn't been much, it certainly meant something.

Yukio considered Tsunayoshi a friend.

"So think about things before you go and do something so stupid, you idiot!"

Yamamoto gave Yukio an apologetic look. "Hm...Sorry for worrying you like that, buddy." His regular goofy grin returned as Yukio realized what Yamamoto said.

He quickly released Yamamoto and turned away, his face turning a deep scarlet color. "S-shut up. I wasn't worried about you THAT much...stupid Bakamoto."

But he never said he didn't care at all, so Yamamoto still grinned as he easily saw through Yukio's lie.

"I guess I'll just have to do like Tsuna said..." Yamamoto said. "I have to do it with my dying will!" He then rubbed the back of his neck, still grinning. "I don't know what I was thinking. Nothing good comes from my idiocy."

"How about an APOLOGY first?!" Yamamoto was met by a swift kick to the face. It was clearly not Yukio's strongest, otherwise Yamamoto would've lost some teeth.

"Hehe, I thought I already said sorry." He was met by Yukio's glare.

"I meant for completely disregarding what I said yesterday, you baseball idiot!" He then turned to Tsunayoshi who flinched, but Yukio's expression softened. "Tsunayoshi-kun..."

"Y-Yes?"

"Thanks for talking some sense into this idiot." Tsunayoshi nodded.

"N-No problem, Orihara-san."

"Yukio."

"Eh?" Yukio turned away.

"My name is Yukio, you got that?" It didn't necessarily sound like a threat, but Tsunayoshi didn't chance it.

"H-Hai, Yukio..."

Yukio then returned to berate Yamamoto for being stupid enough to try and kill himself, Yamamoto grinning, probably not paying attention at all, and Tsunayoshi looking around as if expecting someone or something to appear out of the shadows.

Despite his words, Yukio had never felt so relieved in his life to see that Yamamoto was okay. That Tsunayoshi was okay.

That his best friends were okay.

**And on that sappy note, I am done! I hope y'all enjoyed! HAHA!  
**

**I consider this a victory as this is the first Reborn fic I managed to get past chapter 3~! Cyber five!**

**Anywho, still accepting ideas on which manga chapters I should do. Otherwise I will skip over a lot of them. I mean A LOT.**

**Thanks for the reads and reviews!**

**Bye-Bye!**


End file.
